Marine harness

ABSTRACT

A marine harness ( 1 ) comprising a tow attachment ( 2 ), the tow attachment being such that a person wearing the harness can be towed along by way of attaching a tow line to the attachment, and the tow attachment arranged rearwardly of the harness.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a marine harness.

BACKGROUND

Falling from the back of the boat is many sailors' worst case scenario.This fear is compounded when the boat is travelling fast and at night.All sailors are trained to clip onto the boat using a lanyard and theclip on their life jacket/safety harness, however it is questionable howeffective such measures are if a sailor falls overboard. With modern agefast racing and cruising boats sailing at much faster speeds,conventional technologies of the past fail to protect modern sailors.

We seek to provide improved safety should a man overboard situationoccur.

SUMMARY

According to the invention there is provided a marine harness comprisinga tow attachment, the tow attachment being such that a person wearingthe harness can be towed along by way of attaching a tow line to theattachment, and the tow attachment arranged rearwardly of the harness.

The tow attachment preferably comprises a loop formation or eyelet.Preferably the loop/eyelet is of substantially D-shape.

The tow attachment is preferably arranged to be detachably connectableto the towing line.

The harness preferably comprises a first portion arranged to extendaround the wearer's torso.

The harness preferably comprises second portions arranged to extend overa wearer's shoulders.

The tow attachment preferably comprises an extension arranged to extendrearwardly of the harness.

The extension is preferably fixedly attached to a rearward portion ofthe harness.

The extension preferably comprises a length of webbing or strapping.

The extension is preferably arranged as a bridle between eyelet and therearward region of the harness. In that embodiment, the extensionpreferably passes through the eyelet. Alternatively, the extension maycomprise a single component which extends from the rearward region ofthe harness and is attached to the eyelet.

The structural integrity of the tow attachment with the harness ispreferably such as to withstand pulling forces resulting from the wearerbeing towed whilst wearing the harness. Preferably the structuralintegrity of the tow attachment with the harness is such that a wearercan be vertically lifted from the water using the tow attachment.

Preferably the tow attachment extends from an upper region of therearward region of the harness.

In addition to the tow attachment being ultimately fixedly attached tothe harness, additionally the tow attachment is preferably detachableconnected in a stowed condition to the harness, such as to allow thewearer to manually detach the attachment into a deployable condition.

The tow attachment is preferably detachably connected to the harness ina stowed condition.

Preferably the tow attachment is preferably detachably connected to aside portion of the harness.

The harness is preferably a lifejacket harness. The harness may be anintegral part of a lifejacket.

The harness preferably comprises a positive buoyancy arrangement capableof maintaining a wearer afloat.

The harness preferably comprises a connecter piece arranged to besituated at the rearward region of the harness, and which laterallyconnects respective rearward upwardly extending portions of the harness.

The harness preferably comprises a crotch strap arranged to provide aconnection between a user's legs from a front portion of the harness toa rearward portion of the harness.

When worn by a user during towing, the harness is arranged to apply aneven pulling force around the user's torso, without compressing theuser's chest.

The above aspect, or further aspects, may comprise one or more featuresin the detailed description and/or the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the invention will now be described by way ofexample only, with reference to the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a marine harness;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the marine harness of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the marine harness of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the marine harness worn by a user;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the marine harness worn by a user;

FIG. 6 is an upper view of the marine harness worn by a user; and

FIG. 7 is a side view of the harness worn by a user being towed whilstin water.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference initially to FIG. 1, there is shown a marine harness 1which, as will be described below, comprises a tow attachment 2 whichadvantageously allows the wearer of the harness to be safely towedwhilst in the water.

The harness 1 comprises a continuous length of webbing 3, the distalends of which are detachedly connectable by way of a manually operablefastener 4 (such as a buckle). The webbing 3 is preferably a hightensile strength material. The harness 1 further comprises shoulderstraps 5 which at lower distal end portions are attached to a frontportion of the webbing 3, and the opposite distal end regions areattached to respective rearward portions of the webbing 3. Specifically,said opposite distal ends are attached to upper rearward portions of thewebbing 3.

At each of the lower rearward portions of the webbing 3 there isprovided a connector piece 6 which laterally connects said lowerrearward portions of the webbing 3.

The tow attachment comprises a loop formation 10 (such as an eyelet,carabiner or webbing strop formed as part of component 3) which isfixedly secured to the harness by way of the webbing 3 which passesthrough or forms an integral part of the loop. From the points ofconnection to the shoulder straps 5, that portion of the webbing 3 whichextends rearwardly of the harness forms an extension. The extension isarranged in the form of a bridle. It will be appreciated, however, thatin an alternative embodiment the extension may comprise a single lengthof webbing/strap (such as a single strap) which at one distal end isfixedly attached to the eyelet 10. The opposite distal end of such analternative extension would be attached centrally to a rearward regionof the harness.

It will be appreciated that when the harness is worn by the user, thewebbing 3 (or at least the lower portion thereof) and the connectionpiece 6 serves to encircle the user's torso. The shoulder straps 5extend upwardly of the wearer's torso and pass over his shoulders.

Although the figures show the tow attachment 2 in a deployed condition,initially it is detachably connected to a side region of the harness, soas to allow the wearer to manually remove the tow attachment from thestowed condition to a deployable condition. The detachable connectionmay be achieved by way of a low-strength stitching which is designed tobecome detached when the wearer applies a manual pulling force thereto.It will be appreciated, however, that alternative forms of detachableconnection could be employed to reasonably maintain the tow attachmentin a stowed condition, such as hoop-and-loop materials.

In use, the harness 1 operates as follows. The user initially puts theharness on and attaches the buckle 4. In the event that the wearer fallsoverboard, the tow attachment 10 is broken free from its stowedcondition due to the load imposed thereon by the user's safety line. Theload in the safety line then proceeds to tow the user in a backwardsdirection. Alternatively, in the situation when the safety line is notattached to the tow attachment, the user manually detaches the towattachment from the stowed condition. A tow line (20 as shown in FIG. 7)is then thrown from the vessel to the wearer. The wearer then connectsthe tow line 20 to the tow attachment 10. As the vessel moves, the useris towed along in the water, as shown in FIG. 7. Advantageously, theuser is towed backwards in a ‘seated’ position. Being backward facing tothe direction of movement ensures that bow water does not flood/coverthe wearer's face. This is of particular importance not only for theuser's comfort during towing but also from a safety perspective if thewearer is unconscious and has his mouth open.

In the region 30 in front of the user, a low pressure region is formedwhich ensures a lower water level is presented to the front of thewearer. By causing the wearer to be in a seated position, the pressureon the wearer's lower back and legs is reduced, enhancing both safetyand comfort for the wearer. The webbing 3 being continuous ensures highstructural integrity, reducing the risk of mechanical failure duringtowing. During towing the front portions of the webbing 3 and theshoulder straps 5 cause a force to be evenly applied across the user'schest and lower torso.

It will be appreciated that the harness 1 may be embodied as a lifevestand be provided with positive buoyancy features (such as air-inflatablecells). In that regard, the wearer's body advantageously becomesnaturally self-righting when under way due to the positive buoyancy anddynamic pressure. It will be appreciated that the harness 1 is such thata conventional lifejacket may be worn over the harness.

In a further embodiment, the harness 1 comprises a crotch strap which isarranged to be worn between the user's legs, and which connects a frontportion of the harness to a rearward portion of the harness. The crotchstrap comprises two Y-shaped components, each formed of strapping orwebbing, in other words each may be described as comprising a singleelement which bifurcates into two elements. One end of each of the strapcomponents is (fixedly) attached to the harness adjacent to a respectiveintersection/junction between the webbing 3 and the connector 6, at therear of the harness, and detachably connected by way of a respectivebuckle or strop arrangement) to the front region of the harness at thejunction between the respective shoulder strap 5 and the webbing 3. Inconjunction with the shoulder straps 5, the crotch strap effectivelyforms two continuous loops, which each enclose the wearer's shouldersand the wearer's crotch. Advantageously, this allows a wearer to detachthe buckle 4 (for example to use the toilet) and still ensure that theharness remains securely attached to him.

Once the man overboard has been pulled aside the craft, the structuralintegrity of the tow attachment with the harness is sufficient to allowthe tow attachment to be used to lift the wearer clear of the water andonto the vessel.

1. A marine harness comprising a tow attachment, the tow attachmentbeing such that a person wearing the harness can be towed along by wayof attaching a tow line to the attachment, and the tow attachmentarranged rearwardly of the harness.
 2. The marine harness as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the tow attachment comprises a loop formation.
 3. Themarine harness as claimed in claim 2, wherein the loop formation is ofsubstantially D-shape.
 4. The marine harness as claimed in claim 1,wherein the tow attachment is arranged to be detachably connectable tothe towing line.
 5. The marine harness as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising a first portion arranged to extend around the wearer's torso.6. The marine harness as claimed in claim 5, further comprising secondportions arranged to extend over a wearer's shoulders.
 7. The marineharness as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tow attachment comprises anextension arranged to extend rearwardly of the harness.
 8. The marineharness as claimed in claim 7, wherein the extension is fixedly attachedto a rearward portion of the harness.
 9. The marine harness as claimedin claim 8 wherein the extension comprises a length of webbing orstrapping.
 10. The marine harness as claimed in claim 9, wherein theextension is arranged as a bridle between the loop formation and therearward region of the harness.
 11. The marine harness as clamed inclaim 9, wherein the extension comprises a single component whichextends from the rearward region of the harness and is attached to theloop formation.
 12. The marine harness as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe structural integrity of the tow attachment with the harness is suchas to withstand pulling forces resulting from the wearer being towedwhilst wearing the harness.
 13. The marine harness as claimed in claim12, wherein the structural integrity of the tow attachment with theharness is such that a wearer can be vertically lifted from the waterusing the tow attachment.
 14. The marine harness as claimed in claim 1,wherein the tow attachment extends from an upper region of the rearwardregion of the harness.
 15. The marine harness as claimed in claim 1,wherein the tow attachment is detachably connected in a stowed conditionto the harness, such as to allow the wearer to manually detach theattachment into a deployable condition.
 16. The marine harness asclaimed in claim 15, wherein the tow attachment is detachably connectedto the harness in a stowed condition.
 17. The marine harness as claimedin claim 1, wherein the tow attachment is detachably connected to a sideportion of the harness.
 18. The marine harness as claimed in claim 1,wherein the marine harness is a lifejacket harness.
 19. The marineharness as claimed in claim 18, wherein the marine harness is anintegral part of a lifejacket.
 20. The marine harness as claimed inclaim 1, further comprising a positive buoyancy arrangement capable ofmaintaining a wearer afloat.
 21. The marine harness as claimed in claim1, further comprising a connecter piece arranged to be situated at therearward region of the harness, and which laterally connects respectiverearward upwardly extending portions of the harness.
 22. The marineharness as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a crotch straparranged to provide a connection between a user's legs from a frontportion of the harness to a rearward portion of the harness.